The New Year's Resolution
by Tondelaya
Summary: Sheldon and Amy's lives are disrupted as their published paper becomes a phenomenon in the science community. Will Sheldon keep his resolution to never take Amy for granted again or will something even bigger than science disrupt them in the future? A sequel to the fanfic Love Leads to Isolation.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a sequel to my fanfic Love Leads to Isolation. The sequel demonstrates a change in Sheldon from that first story so you might want to read that story first. It's not too long!** **As always though, the reader is in charge. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: The TBBT characters are not mine.**

* * *

Sheldon looked down at his watch one more time. Ugh, the wait was killing him. Figuratively, of course. His health was fine. Actually, physically he had never felt better.

He was finally caught up on his lack of sleep from his recent self-imposed prison work camp to publish the paper on super asymmetry. He had been eating healthier, thanks to his wife Amy's recent craving to eat organic home-cooked meals. He had even been doing a few more push-ups before bed and before he got ready for work in the morning.

But most of all, Sheldon attributed his physical well-being to his more frequent and more rigorous bedroom activities with Amy. Nothing made him feel more physically alive than when he was making love to his beautiful wife. And he had been doing that a lot lately to make up for lost time. Oh, he still had a pseudo-random coitus schedule for he and Amy. He was just very good at manipulating the algorithm to lean in his favor these days.

Sheldon recalled how he missed his wife physically and emotionally during the months he devoted exclusively to publishing their paper. It was a horrible time in their marriage. They often went days without seeing and speaking to each other because he was working day and night to publish before the end of the year. He missed so many important events during that time. So many firsts for them as a married couple. Their first Thanksgiving, first Christmas and first New Year's Eve. He had even forgot about her birthday that year.

However, he could not deny he learned an invaluable lesson as well from that horrible time. A lesson he was very glad he learned in his first year of marriage as opposed to waiting for years to learn until it may have been too late for him to change.

Change.

Sheldon hated change and the inevitable disruption and chaos it brought with it. Of course, he loved his routines and his schedules but his aversion to change went beyond simply having to adjust a schedule. He could not really explain it but when he felt out of control, when it seemed as though everything in his world had changed, he felt overwhelmed. In those moments, life was simply too much for him. Sheldon had to get away from it all and think.

He remembered the time years ago when he left Pasadena to "ride the rails" for a while due to be overwhelmed by change. It seemed so many things back then hit his life all at once. He had struggled with the possibility of losing Leonard as a roommate when he and Penny become engaged. He had struggled with the University denying him the right to change his field of study. His favorite place to go when he was sad had suddenly burned to the ground. And when his girlfriend Amy had innocently suggested he could move in with her if he did not want to live alone, Sheldon could not stop himself. He sarcastically vocalized to her, in rapid succession, a list of all of the things he desperately wanted to have with Amy, but stoically would not admit. To her or even to himself.

Even back then, deep down inside him, Sheldon wanted to marry her, get a little house, start a family and enjoy their sunset years together. The fact that for the first time in his live he actually wanted to change so much, overwhelmed him. More than anything. More than losing a roommate. More than losing his beloved comic book store. Even more than his desire at the time to move on from string theory. Sheldon had to leave.

Now looking back on that time he spent apart from Amy on his trip, he felt conflicted. On the one hand, he felt guilty and ashamed for being away from her. On the other hand, he had enjoyed his time of discovery to learn not only more about himself but also to learn more about how he truly felt about Amy.

Sheldon always knew he was a man of science. His interests lied in discovering the inner workings of the universe. His first love had been "lady physics". He never thought that anything or anyone would cause him to change his mind on that fact, but something or rather someone did. His Amy.

Don't get him wrong, Amy was a hard core scientist herself and often worked late hours and put the needs of science before her own needs. However, she also made the effort and time to show him how important he was to her. She showed him how much she loved him and how much she wanted to have a future with him.

It was on that train trip years ago when Sheldon finally realized how much he loved Amy. He realized that he really did want all of those things he had sarcastically listed off to her before he left. He realized he was willing to change if it meant he could spend the rest of his life with Amy. He began to solidify their relationship. He made up for missed date nights. He was the first to say "I love you" at their "do-over" prom. He agreed to get a pet together and raise their Martian children someday and have their first sleepover (albeit a G-rated one) to show her he wanted a future with her too. And most of all, he made the decision, with Mee-Maw's ring in hand, to ask Amy to marry him.

Sheldon had been ready to commit to her right then and when she broke up with him, he tried to win her back. He loved her. When he realized; however, that the childish behavior he displayed in order to persuade her to change her mind only hurt her more, Sheldon displayed an uncharacteristic trait for him.

Selflessness.

He wanted her to be happy. Even if that meant marrying someone else. Someone better than him.

Because he loved her, he had let her go.

Thank goodness they had both learned from their time apart and decided to get back together. They had come along way since that time.

Sheldon really had changed. For Amy. He changed more than just his routines and schedules. He bared his soul, heart and body to her. He committed to her forever. And he could not dispute that along with disruption and chaos, change had also brought him love and great happiness. That was the invaluable lesson he learned last year.

Nothing was more important than love. Never take it for granted.

Might as well call himself a full-blown hippy now, he chuckled internally.

"Dr. Cooper" he heard bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Yes" he replied.

"They're ready for you" said the young graduate student who was shadowing him around today.

"Thank you" Sheldon said.

He stood up straighter, took a deep breath, adjusted his tie one more time and walked out on stage to the sound of thunderous applause.


	2. Chapter 2

Amy blinked several times trying to focus on the words in front of her on the screen. Why couldn't she see them? she asked herself. What the heck? Amy reached up to adjust her glasses on her face. She wasn't wearing her glasses. Oh! So that's why, she thought.

Amy looked at the desk and then around her but couldn't find her glasses. She started moving around the lab trying to retrace her steps to see where she might have left them. When she bent over to look under the table, she felt something slide down her forehead and land on her nose. Her glasses had been on top of her head the whole time.

"Wow" she said. "I'd better call it a day".

Amy turned off her computer, hung up her lab coat, and grabbed her bag as she turned out the light.

She had been so forgetful lately, which was not like her at all. She had also been extremely tired. Maybe she was overdoing it although she wasn't sure how. Up until this week, she and Sheldon hadn't really done much of anything except spend a lot of time just relaxing at home free from work and any worries. Actually, it was like a second honeymoon for them and they enjoyed getting to know each other again after a terrible time of spending months apart.

Amy had been hurt tremendously by Sheldon's decision to focus solely on work last year and ignore her and their marriage. And after only being married less than six months! To Amy, it seemed as if all of the years she patiently waited for them to finally marry had not been worth it if it only lead to isolation. While Sheldon's motivation to immerse himself in work may have been primarily driven by his love of physics; she couldn't help but wonder if there was more behind his decision.

Amy recognized it was hard for Sheldon to deal with change. He thrived on homeostasis and while his daily routines may not have changed much, getting married was a huge altercation to his established persona. She knew sometimes those large changes overwhelmed him; however, she had not expected him to retreat into his work. She thought that they were past the days when Sheldon ran away when things got difficult.

Amy recalled, all to well, the times Sheldon would run, hide or try to push her away when his plans changed or he was unsure of the future. She remembered when he told her he wanted to see other women because he didn't want to share a toothbrush holder when they first moved in together. Or the time when he literally put on a disguise (although not a very good one) to hide from her when she asked him to meet her mother years ago because he thought it would change their boy-slash-friend-slash-girl-slash-friend status. She also remembered how mad she was when he ran away and left on his train trip without even saying good-bye. That one hurt. A lot.

However, Amy recognized Sheldon tried to change and show her how he felt when he returned from that trip. She recognized that even now he continued to try to change. Even after everything they had been though, with every misstep and set-back, such as their break-up years ago or even those terrible months apart last year, Amy knew that above all else, Sheldon loved her and she loved him. And that love transcended all.

Thank goodness he realized sooner rather than later the impact his neglectful actions had on Amy and their marriage before it was too late. He really had changed. And, thank goodness that paper was done! Although, that paper was the reason that she was back to not seeing Sheldon again. Well, at least not in person since he started his speaking tour.

Sheldon's paper on super asymmetry (and technically hers she thought as she shook her head) rocked the science community. It took a while for word of mouth to start generating a lot of buzz about their theory because most of academia was not engaged much during the January term, but when the word did get out, Sheldon was inundated with requests for interviews and speaking engagements to discuss the concept.

Which was how he and Amy ended up apart again as he was currently on a two week speaking tour at universities on the east coast. Amy looked at her watch as she got in her car to go home. With the time difference he should be getting ready to go on stage right about now. Maybe if she hurried home she could catch the live stream of his lecture.

* * *

Amy sat at the kitchen bar and sipped her water. "Ah, man! Not again" she whined as she waited once again for the live stream of Sheldon's speech to stop buffering on their home wifi. Amy was frustrated at not being about to hear him clearly. She was so proud of him. She knew speaking in front of crowds wasn't his favorite thing to do but he was so passionate about the theory that he was able to overcome any public speaking stage fright to tell others about it. Amy finally clicked angrily on the screen to stop the broadcast as she gave up. I'll watch the recorded video later, she decided.

Amy knew she should eat something but she never had liked cooking for just one. She and Sheldon had been having a lot of fun lately spending time cooking and experimented with healthy meal options in the kitchen. Although on more than one occasion they had to scrap the entire meal because they had accidentally let it burn while they were otherwise engaged in more amorous activities.

That was another reason the last month or so had felt like a honeymoon to Amy. She and Sheldon had never been more intimate than recently and she adored it. But, like all good things she supposed, their time locked away together in the oasis of apartment 4B had to come to an end.

Amy opened the refrigerator door to find some dinner but nothing looked appealing at all. In fact, the smell emanating from this week's leftovers turned her stomach a little. Yuck, she thought as she closed the door and grabbed some peanut butter crackers from the cabinet. She would need to clean the fridge out later. Right now; however, Amy was too exhausted to even think about cleaning. She finished her crackers and went straight to bed forgetting to turn off her laptop or even turn off the kitchen light.


	3. Chapter 3

Amy woke up a while later to the sound of her phone. It was Sheldon.

"Hi" she said holding up the phone so she could see the picture better. He looked so handsome all dressed up in his suit and tie.

"Hello Amy" he said. "Oh, I apologize. Did I wake you?" he asked when he saw she was in bed. "I did not anticipate you would be in bed this early. Well, early your time" Sheldon finished.

He had just arrived back at his hotel room after he had stayed a while to answer some audience questions following his lecture. He had immediately called Amy the first opportunity he could.

"No, no. It's fine. I just went to bed early. Long day. How did the speech go tonight? I caught most of it" she fibbed.

"Amy it was amazing. I really think people are starting to accept our theory. There have been many tough valid questions but also many positive responses" he beamed.

Sheldon was having a wonderful time on this speaking tour. He usually hated having to present his ideas and theories in a lecture format; however, there had been some insightful questions and comments. It was a pleasant surprise.

Amy beamed back. "That's wonderful Sheldon. I am so proud of you" she said.

"Thank you. I miss you" he said quietly. As much as he enjoyed this trip, he missed his wife terribly. Especially, after he had gotten used to all of the time they had recently been spending together.

"And I miss you too" she sighed. I have to be strong, she thought. He would be back soon. She had faith he wasn't going to slip into old habits and forget about her.

Amy and Sheldon had discussed the implications this speaking tour would mean for them in great detail. They made a pact that even while they were apart, he would make every effort possible to be more attentive to her and the marriage and she would not keep her feelings bottled up for so long. She would let him know if she ever felt neglected and they would figure out a solution. Together.

"One more week and I am back home, alright" he promised.

"Alright" she agreed with a yawn.

Sheldon paused and looked at her through the screen. She did look like she had experienced a long day. But she also looked beautiful. Even more so than normal for some reason if that was even possible.

"Amy I am sorry I woke you. You go back to sleep. I will call you tomorrow" he said.

"Okay" she said.

"Good night Amy. I love you."

"Good night Sheldon. I love you too" she said yawning again.

* * *

Sheldon disconnected the call and removed his suit jacket and tie. He missed Amy. And truth be told, he was a little worried about his wife. It was very unlike her to go to bed so early.

He looked down at his phone and reviewed his touring schedule for the next two days. He actually had a break built in for tomorrow as a travel day which ended in a courtesy tour of his next campus. Nothing he could not miss. He was not actually scheduled to give another speech or interview until the day after tomorrow and those would be well into the evening hours.

"Hmm." Sheldon had a thought. He retrieved his laptop from his bag and sat down at the hotel desk. He started typing as a mischievous grin settled on his face.

* * *

Amy woke feeling refreshed the next morning after a good night's sleep and ready to start the day. She pulled up the recorded video from Sheldon's lecture last night and watched it while eating breakfast. She shouldn't have skipped dinner last night. She was starving, she thought as she scarfed down her cereal.

Sheldon was magnificent as always and he was right. There were some really difficult but intriguing questions about the theory.

After cleaning up and turning off the video she bent down to unplug her laptop. When she stood back up she suddenly felt lightheaded and her stomach lurched. "Oh" she said sitting down quickly. Just as suddenly she felt fine.

I must have rose up too fast, she thought. But when she went to get up again, her stomach sent an urgent message to her brain. Amy ran to the kitchen sink just in time to empty her stomach and deposit her breakfast into the basin.

What on earth, she thought as she cleaned the sink and rinsed out her mouth. Amy sat for a minute and drank a few sips of water. She rose again. Nothing. She felt fine. Weird, she thought.

She went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and check her temperature. It was slightly elevated but nothing to be too concerned about. I better check the expiration date on that milk later, she thought as she grabbed her bag and left for work.

Amy had been having a very productive morning in the lab. She had worried briefly she might be coming down with something but she felt fine now. She had just finished putting the final lab culture away when she dropped her pen on the floor by the specimen refrigerator. She bent down to retrieve it but it had rolled under the refrigerator grate. She got on her hands and knees and turned her head upside down to see if she could locate it. She didn't see it. Oh well, she thought, it was just a pen.

Amy rose up to stand.

The room starting spinning.

Suddenly she couldn't hear and then she couldn't see.

The silence and darkness descended upon her.

* * *

Sheldon braced himself for the landing but he did not feel a thing. He was never a huge fan of flying but when it was done well, he definitely appreciated it. The flight attendant welcomed them to LAX, told them the weather and then gave the okay to turn on their cell phones again.

Sheldon grinned. He could not wait to see the look on Amy's face as he carried out his plan for a surprise visit home. He loved surprising Amy. Like the time when he gave her a tiara as a gesture of apology. Or when he threw a surprise brunch for her when they first moved in together. Or the time when he made her an authentic Little House on the Prairie birthday dinner for her. Although that one gave them both a surprise when they unfortunately ended up with food poisoning.

Well, that would not happen this time, he promised. Sheldon was planning on whisking Amy away and beguiling her with a romantic dinner out and a night full of passion until he had to catch his flight back east in the morning.

Sheldon looked at his phone. Hmm, he thought. He had four missed calls and a voice mail from Caltech. Sheldon listened to the message as the other passengers were preparing to disembark from the plane.

His face suddenly went white as a ghost.

He put his phone down stunned for a moment and then suddenly rushed into action rising from his seat and grabbing his overnight bag.

"I am coming Amy. Hang on sweetheart" he said quietly.


	4. Chapter 4

Sheldon rushed into the emergency room and stopped to catch his breath at the triage desk.

"I need to see Dr. Amy Cooper" he said quickly.

"I'm sorry" the nurse said. "Is that an E.R. doctor?"

"No, no. She is a patient. My wife. She was brought in earlier" he explained still breathing heavily.

"Oh, forgive me" she said as she typed on her keyboard. "I'm sorry. I can't find a Cooper as a patient. When was she brought here?"

"Try Fowler. Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler" Sheldon said using her maiden name.

Using that name, the nurse found her in the computer system and quickly escorted Sheldon to the private observation area. The nurse went to find a doctor for an update on Amy's condition.

When she left, Sheldon stopped and looked through the glass window of the door. Amy was dressed in a hospital gown lying down in bed. Her eyes were closed and she was hooked up to an IV.

"Oh Amy" he said softly as he placed his hand upon the glass window.

Sheldon had always hated hospitals but seeing Amy in one was awful. His cute adorable Amy. She looked so pale and fragile. He had been away from her for only a week and she had ended up in the hospital.

Sheldon shook his head in disbelief and entered the room.

"Amy" he said.

"Sheldon?" she questioned as she sat up in the bed. "What are doing here? You're supposed to be on your tour."

"The University called me. I am your emergency contact" he said as he rushed over to her side. "Amy, what happened? Are you alright?"

Amy looked up at him. "Yes, yes much better. They're giving me fluids. I guess I was slightly dehydrated."

"Amy" Sheldon chastised her. "They told me your graduate student found you on the floor of the lab unconscious for who knows how long and you were brought here by ambulance. What happened?" he asked again.

Sheldon will never forget the way he felt when he heard the message that Amy had been found and brought to the hospital. It was like the entire world just stopped. Everything was still moving around him, but he was no longer part of it. The world may have still been spinning, but Amy was his world. Without her, everything ceased to exist.

Amy looked down and fiddled with her gown when she saw the anxious way Sheldon was looking at her. In all honestly, she had no idea what had happened. One minute she was fine working away happily in her lab and the next she was waking up in a hospital. The E.R. staff had immediately hooked her up to an IV and started a myriad of tests. Amy had been surprised, scared and quite frankly embarrassed. She didn't like all of the attention or the feeling of being out of control.

"I'm not sure exactly, she finally said. "I guess I passed out from the dehydration. I threw up this morning and probably didn't replenish enough of the fluids I lost."

"You were sick this morning?" Sheldon asked irritated.

Of course, he berated himself internally. He had not been there to take care of her when she was sick because he once again put work in front of his wife. And now, she was lying in a hospital bed! So much for "in sickness and in health". I am a terrible husband, he thought sadly.

"How on earth did you get here so fast when they called? You were all the way across the country?" Amy asked as she tried to change the subject. From his irritated tone she could tell he was obviously upset to find out that she had been sick. After all, her husband was a huge germaphobe.

"Actually, I was already here when I finally got the message. I wanted to surprise you by coming home for the day since my next speech isn't until tomorrow night. Looks like I was the one that was surprised by finding you in the hospital" he frowned.

No, this was not the surprise he wanted but he silently thanked a deity he did not believe in that at least he was here with her now.

Amy looked at him with tears in her eyes. She was touched that Sheldon would go to such effort to surprise her and spend the day with her. He really was working on making her a priority. He was changing so much.

"Thank you Sheldon. What a thoughtful thing to do" she choked out.

"Well, it is a good thing I decided to come back. And you can forget me leaving again. I am cancelling the tour" Sheldon said. He had promised himself and her that he would not put other things in front of her needs.

"Sheldon. You can't do that. You have to go and defend our paper and…"she started.

"Forget it Amy. I thought I had explained this all to you on New Year's Day. You are the most important thing in the world to me. More than our paper. More than science. More than anything. I am never going to take you for granted. You need me and I am not leaving" he declared strongly.

Wow, Amy thought.

It seemed Sheldon wasn't upset that she was sick because of the germs. He was upset that she was sick and he wasn't there to help her. Amy didn't get sick very often but when she had, Sheldon had always been there to take care of her in the past, despite the germs. She felt a little guilty for doubting him now.

Still, she knew how important his work was right now and he just couldn't give that up. Amy began to protest his statement again but was interrupted when the doctor entered the room reading what must be her chart.

"Dr. Fowler?" he asked.

"Yes" Amy replied. She assumed since she was unconscious when she arrived at the hospital they had checked her in under her professional name she used at the university.

"I'm Dr. Willis. Oh, you must be Dr. Fowler's husband, Mr. Fowler."

"No, his name is…"Amy began.

Sheldon interrupted her. "Yes, fine Mr. Fowler. Is Amy alright? What caused her to lose consciousness?"

Amy couldn't believe Sheldon did not correct Dr. Willis's mistake regarding his name or his title. He must really be worried about her.

"Well" the doctor began "technically Amy's blood vessels are dilated which led to a drop in her blood pressure. Her blood sugar was a little low too along with her electrolytes, probably from her vomiting this morning. However, it is nothing out of the ordinary for someone in her condition."

Sheldon's face dropped. "Oh Lord. What condition? Smallpox? Malaria? Rabies?" he asked fearfully.

The doctor made an odd face.

"Doctor?" Amy questioned.

"Pregnancy. Congratulations, your pregnant" he announced.

Amy could do nothing but watch from her bed as Sheldon slowly sank to the floor.

"NURSE!" the doctor called.

* * *

Amy flipped through her magazine. She felt a lot better now that she was sitting fully dressed with no IV in a regular chair. She looked up at her hospital bed which now had Sheldon laying in it. At least he didn't have to have an IV. The doctor just wanted to keep him for observation since he may have hit his head when he fainted.

"Amy?" Sheldon said.

"Sheldon. I'm here. Are you feeling better?"

"Oh, Amy. I had the oddest dream. I had finally published our paper on super asymmetry and it was a big success. I was giving lectures all over but I had to stop. I do not remember why exactly" he frowned.

"WAIT!" Sheldon yelled and sat up straight. "I do remember".

Amy smiled at him.

"Amy, you're…" Sheldon trailed off.

"Yes Sheldon" Amy confirmed smiling. "I'm pregnant."

Sheldon's eyes closed and his head tilted back as he slowly sank down into the bed fainting again.

Should I get the nurse? Amy wondered.

She looked at Sheldon. His vitals looked good. His color and breathing were fine.

Maybe, I'll just enjoy the quiet for a bit, she thought going back to her magazine.


	5. Chapter 5

"Sheldon, I'm okay" Amy said for what felt like the hundredth time that evening.

"Are you sure?" Sheldon asked again. "Because we can install a lift of some sort to …"

"It's fine" Amy interrupted him slightly annoyed as he helped her up their apartment stairs.

His arms were so tight around her he practically lifted her off the ground. He had been acting extremely overprotective of her ever since he woke up again at the hospital and he was cleared to take Amy home.

"I just want to make sure you are okay and…" Sheldon gulped "and that the baby is okay."

A baby, he thought. Sheldon was still somewhat in shock that Amy was pregnant, although it was certainly possible. He had not had time to process what her pregnancy meant to him. All he knew for certain was that the most important thing in the world right now was taking care of both of them.

"Sheldon. We're okay. I promise" Amy reassured him as they finally made it to their apartment landing.

'We', she thought. I am no longer an 'I' but a 'we'. Wow, she marveled. Amy hadn't had much time to process what the pregnancy meant to her either.

Suddenly the door to apartment 4A opened.

"Hey, we thought we heard you" Leonard said as he came through the door.

"Amy, we've been trying to reach you all evening" Penny added as she soon joined him. "Where have you…wait, Sheldon what are you doing here?"

"Yeah, you're supposed to be on your lecture tour" Leonard said with a curious look.

"I was, but what with Amy being in the hospital…" Sheldon began.

"WHAT! Amy, why were you in the hospital?" Penny interrupted and rushed to her side.

"I'm fine really. I just passed out in the lab" Amy said trying to reassure her.

"Really. That's all? "Leonard questioned worriedly. "And Sheldon flew all the way back here because you "just passed out" Leonard said sarcastically as his fingers made quotes in the air as he said the words.

Penny gasped.

"Oh god! You're dying aren't you? Sheldon wouldn't skip out on his big celebrity speaking tour unless…oh god!" she cried as she threw her arms around Amy.

"What is it?" Leonard asked his face taking on a somber look. "Smallpox? Malaria? Rabies?" he guessed.

"I'm not dying" Amy said as she tried to squirm out of Penny's Nebraska strong grip and glared at Leonard. Wow, it seemed that everyone thought she did nothing in her lab but work with deadly infectious diseases all day. That was more Bernadette's area of biology anyway. Jeez! Physicists!

"No. Amy is fine" Sheldon said. "She is pregnant" he added calmly as he unlocked his apartment door.

"WHAT!" Penny and Leonard yelled.

"OH MY GOD, AMY!" Penny squealed and squeezed her tightly.

"Hey, hey!" Sheldon chastised "Stop squeezing my progeny!" Sheldon pulled Amy from Penny and led her into the apartment gently helping her sit on the couch.

"Is everything okay?" Penny asked as she and Leonard followed them into the apartment.

"Is something wrong with the baby?" she continued. "Is that why you were in the hospital? Why didn't you tell me Amy? Does this have something to do with our conversation about me not having kids? Amy, I can't believe you would think…"

"Penny!" Amy shouted to stop her ranting.

"Everything is fine with the baby and with me. I was just a little dehydrated from what must have been a case of morning sickness. I didn't even know I was pregnant until they told me at the hospital."

"Yes, it was quite a surprise to both of us" Sheldon added. "I came home to surprise Amy with a day off of touring, but she had to "out-surprise" me. She has always been a little competitive" he teased while he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it with sweetest display of affection.

For a moment, all Penny and Leonard could do was stare at Sheldon with their mouths hanging open. Not only was it unusual for him to say something so playful but the way he was looking at Amy was something that could only be described as pure awe. They knew he loved her but neither had ever seen him before emote such unabashed emotion.

Leonard was the first to come out of their stupor.

"Well, congratulations!" Leonard said smiling ear-to-ear. He walked over to Sheldon and extended his hand. "Sheldon. I'm really happy for you" he said sincerely.

Sheldon shook his hand. "Oh, thank you Leonard" he replied with relief. He had been worried that perhaps Leonard might be upset finding out that Sheldon would become a father when he and Penny had recently decided Leonard would probably not.

"Oh my god Sheldon" Penny came and gave him a famous "Penny hug". "I am so happy for you guys. A Shamy baby!" she gushed. "This is cause for celebration. Leonard?"

"I'm on it" he said reading her mind as he headed across the hall. "I'll be right back with four glasses. Champagne for us and for the expected parents, some nice Vitamin C enriched apple juice" he smirked.


	6. Chapter 6

Amy yawned as she and Sheldon bid goodnight to their best friends. They were so very sweet to stay and fawn over them upon hearing their unexpected good news. While they were there, Sheldon had called Bernadette and Howard to tell them Amy was pregnant and then Raj who passed the news on to Anu. They both thought it would be best though to wait to tell Mary and Amy's parents tomorrow after getting a good night's sleep.

Sheldon and Amy hadn't had a chance to discuss the news privately. There was too much commotion at the hospital what with him fainting. Neither one had driven themselves there so they didn't want to discuss it in front of their cab driver on the way home. And then it seemed too awkward to talk about in front of Penny and Leonard. But now that their friends had left, Amy looked at Sheldon with anticipation. Given Sheldon's initial reaction in the hospital Amy wasn't exactly sure how he felt about their little surprise.

"Sheldon?" she questioned as he finished closing their front door and looked back at her intently.

Sheldon rushed over to her and pulled her gently into his arms hugging her closely.

After a moment, Amy felt what seemed to be small sobs rack through his body which worried her.

"Sheldon?" she questioned again.

"I meant what I said at the hospital Amy. Before I found out you were pregnant." He leaned back to look at her with tears in his eyes. "You and…" he hesitated "and the baby need me. I am not leaving you."

Sheldon wanted desperately to reassure Amy that although having a child was most definitely an overwhelming life change for him, he would embrace the change and not run away as he had done in the past. He would be there and he would take care of her and the baby. They were his priority now.

Sheldon had learned the error of his ways when he put himself above Amy in the past. He remembered the hurt he had caused her when he was so caught up in publishing their paper he completely ignored her for months. He remembered the absolute sheer terror he felt when he thought he might have lost her forever in an accident on New Year's Eve. He never wanted to put either of them through that again.

"Sheldon" Amy began to argue again but stopped when she saw how vulnerable he looked right now.

"Amy" he continued as he looked at her. How could he convey to Amy what this pregnancy meant to him. How could Sheldon make her understand that she was his heart and she had filled it beyond his greatest expectations.

"You have given me so much already to be thankful for in this life. And now, a child" he smiled. "I love you both so damn much."

"Oh Sheldon" she said. "I…no," Amy stopped "we love you too" she replied with tears now in her eyes as well.

Amy knew they could somehow work things out. Sheldon's work was too important to abandon right now but she could not deny how touched she was that he was willing to do so for her and the baby.

A baby! How could she not have realized she was pregnant? The forgetfulness, being unusually tired, the extra heightened sense of smell, the dizziness and vomiting, the elevated temperature. Not to mentioned the um, extra activities in the bedroom. They were usually so careful though. Oh! Amy realized. Based on the doctor's predictions, it must have been New Year's when they conceived. Oh, my goodness. What a way to start the New Year!

Amy remembered that night well. The passionate way Sheldon had kissed her when discovered she was safe at home from the party. The way his hands roamed all over body like he could never get enough of her. The way he made her feel when he said he needed her and she told him she would always be there. They way their patience flew out the window in their rush to join together after so much time apart. The way their love surpassed everything.

This baby was a product of their love and she loved him or her already. A little version of her and Sheldon. Everything would be alright, Amy told herself as she smiled and headed for bed.

* * *

Sheldon turned off the light and turned in bed to hold his wife close. He had already done the calculations in his head and realized they had conceived when he came home after leaving the New Year's Eve party worried about Amy. It appeared that night had irrevocably changed his life in more ways than one.

That was the night that Sheldon made a life-long promise, a resolution as it where, to never put something in front of Amy's needs again. Amy had demonstrated her immense capacity to be patient when it came to Sheldon and he was not going to take that for granted. And now, she needed him more than ever. He would make this work. He was resolved to make this work.


	7. Chapter 7

"Amy, ready for lunch?" Sheldon called as he entered her lab.

"Amy?" he called again searching for her.

"Over here Sheldon" he heard from somewhere behind the lab table but he didn't see Amy. He walked over and saw she was bent over with her head down.

"AMY!" he yelled reaching down to help her up.

"I'm okay Sheldon" Amy said as he ushered to the stool.

"I'm fine. I just felt a twinge and bent over and well, it was taking a while for me to get back up" she grinned sheepishly.

Amy was having a difficult time getting around these days. Quite frankly she was what one might call, huge! She was still working in the late stages of her pregnancy but was sure to be extra careful not to work around anything in the lab that might be considered hazardous or dangerous.

Of course, no matter how many times she assured Sheldon she was being cautious, he insisted on escorting her to the lab every morning. Coming to escort her to the cafeteria for lunch every day to make sure she was eating properly. And then he escorted her back to her office to finish out her day.

Amy loved him for how attentive he had been throughout her pregnancy, but sometimes she felt smothered by him. She felt like now was about to be one of those times.

"Amy" he scolded. "You know you have to be careful getting up and down at this stage in your pregnancy. You may have fallen as your balance has been diminished by…"

"I know, I know Sheldon" she interrupted. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again" she promised. She shouldn't really give him a hard time about how attentive he had been to her. He had been that way since day one of this pregnancy.

* * *

Sheldon had changed his speaking tour schedule the very next day after he found out Amy was pregnant. As both he and Amy had thought, they were able to work things out. Sheldon's paper on super asymmetry had been considered revolutionary in the world of physics. Universities and science programs were more than willing to be flexible to work with his schedule.

Sheldon was able to give many of his lectures and interviews remotely and the rest he scheduled on the weekends bringing Amy with him until she could no longer travel. Audiences actually loved it even more when Amy was there with him. While the physics world knew Sheldon as the lead scientist and contributor to the paper, Amy would add her insightful view on the very ways we conceptualize symmetry and asymmetry. She also always joined in when Sheldon told of his inspiration for the theory when she pointed out that a little asymmetry was good regarding his wedding bow tie. Nothing beats a wedding story and the audiences ate it up!

It was actually a very special time for them in their marriage being alone together in new cities experiencing new things. They knew after the baby was born, they would not be able to travel as much and they took advantage of their time together. Sheldon had seemed, on the surface anyway, to embrace this little unexpected disruption in their lives with ease.

* * *

Now, after making sure Amy was alright from finding her hunched over in the lab, Sheldon escorted her as usual to the cafeteria. He watched as she chatted with coworkers about the daily university gossip and of course, about the baby.

The baby. Sheldon could not wait to meet him or her. He and Amy had decided they would not find out the gender of the baby. They both wanted to raise their child in a loving world of equality and non-judgement. It did not matter to either of them if their child was a boy or girl. She or he would be a brilliant magnificent blend of them both equally and they would adore the child. Their friends on the other hand were more than annoyed that they didn't know whether to purchase baby clothes in the traditional choices of pink or blue.

Sheldon and Amy's friends were actually being more supportive than he could have anticipated. Howard and Bernadette had offered them carte blanche access to any baby items they could ever want and had been an endless source of advice on infants and toddlers. Even Raj and Anu had offered to babysit. But Leonard and Penny were being the absolute best friends they could have asked for in the world.

Penny constantly checked up on Amy to make sure she was doing alright. She helped her buy maternity clothes, go to expectant mom yoga classes and she even helped them set up the bassinet and crib in Sheldon and Amy's bedroom (they had decided to wait until after the baby came to make any decisions about getting a bigger place).

And Leonard, well Leonard had done something that no one could anticipate. He complained, he badgered, he wrote letters, he went to city hall and he did the impossible. He finally got the building elevator fixed so Amy would not have to climb up three flights of stairs every day. Sheldon was so grateful to have such wonderful friends in his life.

Now the time was nearing for Amy's delivery. Sheldon had everything planned down to the minute. From how long it would take to get to the hospital to the amount of ice chips Amy would need to adequately remain hydrated during delivery. Although Sheldon was not thrilled with Amy having to be in a hospital, he knew it was the most reliable way to bring their little one into the world.

Sheldon often spent time reading and singing to the littlest Cooper. There was nothing in the world, not even the loudest longest applause he received after presenting one his lectures, which brought him more happiness than those quiet evenings at home when he and Amy would sit on the couch with her feet in his lap while he read out loud to the baby. He would watch Amy's stomach as little bumps would move across her raising her shirt to the sound of his voice. It was a magical time for them.

* * *

Sheldon stopped his daydreaming about the baby when he realized Amy was done eating lunch. He escorted her back to her office and then went back to his office to finish up his notes for an online interview he was scheduled for in the morning. He was sure he would be asked about his potential for the Nobel this year. The awards would be announced soon and the closer they got, the more he was asked about it. Sheldon was never quite sure how to answer those questions.

Honesty? "Yes, I think a Nobel Prize in Physics would be well-deserved, thank you."

Humility? "No, no I could not imagine I would ever win."

Humor? "Speaking of physics, why can't you trust an atom? They make up everything. Ha!"

Nothing really worked, so Sheldon typically skirted over the question and changed the subject. To be honest, he really did not think he would win this year. The theory was just too new. He was well aware that it sometimes took decades after a discovery was made to even be nominated much less win. I mean, even his physics idol, the great Stephen Hawking sadly never won a Nobel Prize.

Sheldon sighed as he finished his notes thinking about all of the times he spent talking with Professor Hawking. He hated the fact that he never had the chance to tell him about his discovery before he passed away. As he sat there lost in thought of what might have been, the alarm on his watch sounded. Time to head over and retrieve Amy for home, he thought as he absentmindedly packed up his bag.

Sheldon had been very diligent to set alarms frequently now so he never lost track of time again like he had when he was working on their paper. He would never make that mistake again. Amy needed him. And to be honest, he needed her too. His world just was not right when they were not together.

* * *

On their way home from work, Amy sighed as she looked out the window of the car watching the scenery slowly pass by them. After a rocky start, Sheldon had actually turned into a very careful driver but this was ridiculous! Unfortunately, Amy was too big to fit behind the wheel anymore so Sheldon had been driving them to work and back home every day. Amy knew he was only being extra cautious because of her and the baby. As frustrated as she was though, she could never fault Sheldon for how much he cared about her. He was always putting her needs over his own these days. He had changed so much!

"Ow" she said suddenly clutching at her extended stomach as she felt a sharp pain.

"Amy?" Sheldon said alarmed. "What is wrong? Is it the baby?"

Amy relaxed again. "It's nothing Sheldon. Must have just been a hard kick. This little guy or gal is running out of room in there" she answered out of breath.

Sheldon watched her for the rest of the car ride out of the corner of his eye. She seemed fine now but he was worried. She was becoming more and more uncomfortable every day and he could not remember the last time Amy had a good night's sleep. They were supposed to go to Leonard and Penny's tonight for dinner with the gang but maybe they should just stay home and rest.

"Amy, maybe we should not go over for dinner tonight. Would you like to stay home and have a quiet dinner, just us, and rest?" he asked hopefully.

"What? No, no. Sheldon really I'm fine. I want to go over and have dinner tonight with everyone. Who knows when we'll be able to do it again after the baby comes" she answered.

"Yes" he said. "It was just an idea." Sheldon conceded as he parked and came around to help Amy out of the car. He had been learning to be more flexible when it came to relinquishing his ideas. He had begun to realize that not everything was about him these days.

* * *

A short time later he was sitting comfortably in his spot on the couch in his old apartment 4A enjoying dinner and conversation with friends. Amy had been right to insist they come. He was having a good time and after the baby was born they really did not know when they might get together like this again.

Penny, Bernadette and Raj were gossiping about some man named Paul who worked at the pharmaceutical company. Apparently, he had recently split with someone named Nancy because of a rumored affair with someone one named Jennifer. It seemed no one was surprised and had seen this split coming for years. Yikes, thought Sheldon. Boring. He quickly turned his attention away from that conversation.

Howard and Leonard were talking about the just announced Nobel Prize award in Medicine and the implications of the award winning research in the prevention of sickle cell anemia. Ugh! thought Sheldon. He was nervous enough and did not want to be reminded of the awards. He turned his attention to Amy who was seated next to him chatting with Anu.

He anticipated their conversation would surround the topics of marriage and children given the most prominent things going on in their lives right now; however, he was pleasantly surprised to hear them discussing super asymmetry. While Anu was not a scientist, she was intelligent and had an inquisitive mind when it came to the universe. Amy was just getting to the part of the bosons interaction with fermions when Sheldon was suddenly reminded of something.

"Oh dear!" he said suddenly.

Amy stopped talking and turned toward him. "What's wrong Sheldon?" she asked.

Sheldon put his dinner down on the table to face her. "I left my notes in my office for my online interview tomorrow morning." He recalled being distracted by missing his friend and had forgotten to put the notes in his bag.

"Can you access them electronically?" Amy asked.

"No, I had printed them and added a few things in ink." He sighed. "I need them first thing tomorrow. I am doing the interview from home since it is an east coast show and will be so early our time.

"Don't you remember them?" Amy asked. She knew Sheldon had an eidetic memory.

"No" he answered her. "I did not get a chance to look over the final draft yet". Unfortunately, he could not memorize something if had yet to see it.

"So shall we?' he said as he rose from the couch holding out his hand to help Amy up.

"Sheldon, I don't want to go back to campus tonight" Amy whined loudly. "I'm tired and hungry and I want to stay here" she said and remained seated.

"But I do not want to leave you" Sheldon rebutted. He and Amy had spent every moment together for the last month. Although she worked in a separate building from him they were at least close to each other on the same part of campus. He just could not be apart from her right now. She needed him too much.

"Sheldon" Leonard jumped in before an argument began.

"Amy will be fine here. We'll all watch over her. You won't be gone long" he added gently.

Sheldon looked at his best friend. He knew he could trust him with his life. But the lives of his wife and unborn baby? He did not think so.

"Nope." Sheldon replied. "That will not work."

Leonard started to argue but Amy interrupted him.

"Sheldon" she said calmly as she looked up at him and took hold of his hand. "I'll be fine. Our friends are here with me and you'll be back in less than an hour" she said and squeezed his hand to reassure him.

Sheldon stared down at his beautiful wife glowing with the fullness of their progeny.

He knew he could not deny her anything at this point.

She truly was a vixen!

"Okay Amy. But you call me if you need anything. Pickles, ice cream, a CD of classical music for the baby, anything" he finally said.

"Okay Sheldon" Amy laughed as he bent down and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

Sheldon walked over and opened the door and called for Leonard.

Leonard followed him into the hallway and closed the door.

"What is Sheldon?" Leonard asked reluctantly. He knew he was about to receive a famous Sheldon Cooper lecture on emergencies preparedness or something just as ridiculous.

"Leonard" Sheldon began looking more frightened that Leonard could ever recall seeing him.

"Please, please take care of Amy until I get back. She had a pretty sharp pain earlier tonight and I am worried about her" he pleaded.

Leonard was caught off guard by the simple yet sincere request.

"Of course, Sheldon. Of course, I will. She'll be fine, don't worry" he said as he reached up to put his hand on Sheldon's shoulder.

"Thank you" he said. "You cannot imagine how much they both mean to me. I will be back as soon as I can" Sheldon yelled as he started down the stairs too impatient to wait for the elevator.

Leonard just stood in the hallway for a moment as he watched him leave. He was overcome with emotion as he realized that despite Sheldon's quirks, eccentricities, and yes, even his flaws, he loved his family. Sheldon was going to be an amazing father, Leonard smiled as he went back inside the apartment they shared for so many years.

What Leonard had not realized was that Sheldon was going to become a father sooner than they had all expected.


	8. Chapter 8

**What Leonard had not realized was that Sheldon was going to become a father sooner than they had all expected.**

* * *

Literally five minutes after Sheldon left the apartment Amy abruptly mentioned she wasn't feeling well.

Anu moved to allow room for Amy to lay down on the couch but as soon as Amy laid down she grabbed her stomach and screamed.

Everyone jumped up and ran to her.

"AMY!" Penny and Bernadette yelled as they hovered over her on the couch.

"It's okay Amy" Bernadette said calmly as she placed her hand on Amy's shoulder. "Tell me what's going on?"

Amy continued to clutch at her stomach screaming.

Bernadette locked eyes with a fearful Penny.

"She must be in hard labor" Bernadette said loudly as she held on to Amy. "She can't even talk through the pain."

Amy kept screaming.

Penny felt frantic but kept that feeling inside for Amy's sake. It may have been her Midwest upbringing or maybe always having to be the strong one for her lovable group of nerds, but she normally tried not to panic in crisis situations.

Still, she was incredibly scared for her friend.

"Amy" Penny said as she leaned close to her. "Please can you talk to us?" she pleaded.

Amy stopped screaming but was breathing too heavily to talk.

"Something's wrong" Bernadette said and moved away from Amy reaching for her phone. "I'm calling 911."

"Wait, wait" Amy finally said out of breath. "It's okay, I'm okay." She was a pale as a ghost and visibly shaking.

Penny helped Amy back to a seated position on the couch.

Leonard moved to kneel down directly in front of Amy. He took her her hands in his and made sure she was focused on his face.

"Amy, we need to get you to the hospital, okay. Do you think you can make it to the car?" If she didn't give him a positive sign that she was better, he was calling 911 himself and then he was calling Sheldon.

"Yes" she said although still breathing heavily. "I can make it".

Leonard certainly wasn't a expert in the area of childbirth and labor so he decided to trust Amy's judgement.

"Okay, Amy. Let's get you to the hospital" he said.

Leonard looked up at his wife holding on to her dear friend. He knew that Penny and Amy's friendship was unique. Both women were as opposite as they could be from one another and yet despite their differences their friendship had grown over the years into something truly special. Leonard knew despite Penny's strong exterior, she must be terrified for her friend.

Leonard gave Penny a small reassuring smile. Penny returned it as best she could and then the both of them latched arms around Amy to help her stand.

"Oh, no" Amy said as she suddenly froze in place.

"What?" Leonard asked fearfully.

"My water just broke" she admitted.

"Wow, okay" he said squeamishly. "Well, we'd better get going then" he said as he and Penny held on to her and helped her walk to the door.

"We're coming with you" Bernadette yelled as she retrieved her things. "Howard, can you call Stuart?" He and Denise were babysitting the kids tonight.

"Sure, but who's going to call Sheldon?" Howard asked. Please don't say me, please don't say me, please don't say me, he chanted internally.

"I'll call him from the car" Leonard offered.

Whew! Howard thought as he dialed Stuart.

"Anu would you mind to get Amy's bag from her apartment. She said it was just inside the door" Bernadette asked as she gave Anu her keys.

"Of course, of course" Anu said rushing over to Sheldon and Amy's place.

Howard finished his call and started to leave the apartment but he looked back and saw Raj who was still standing in the living room.

"Raj" Howard grimaced. "I hate to ask but could you stay for a minute and clean up the mess" he gestured to the couch where Amy's water had broken.

"Um, sure, sure" Raj said "Go, I've got this."

Everyone was gone leaving only Raj in the empty apartment.

"Okay" he said putting his hands together. Raj wasn't too squeamish around things pregnancy related since he had grown up with a father that was an OBGYN.

"I'll just get some towels and…Oh, god, oh, no!" Raj groaned as he looked down and the couch.

Amy had made a mess alright.

And it was isolated to one place.

All over Sheldon's spot!

* * *

Sheldon had just arrived at the University.

He ran inside as quickly as he could to retrieve his notes and ran into Dr. Seibert in the hallway. Sheldon was surprised to see the President of the University on campus at night. He always assumed his nights were reserved for the wining and dining of various University benefactors.

Yuck! Sheldon thought.

He would hate having to schmooze benefactors as part of his job. Hobnobbing with the elite just for funding was so demeaning. He had somewhat gotten over his aversion to touring and giving interviews this year, but his aversion to fundraising was a different story. Sheldon was glad he had not been asked to help with that again. As he recalled, President Seibert was not very impressed with his skills in that area in the past so maybe he was safe for now!

"Dr. Cooper" Dr. Seibert said. "A surprise to see you here tonight. You're not overworking yourself again are you?"

Dr. Seibert had been very concerned about Sheldon last fall when he observed him working day and night on his latest theory. Of course, what a theory that had turned out to be! Sheldon was a rock star in the world of physics which was fantastic for Caltech.

"No sir" Sheldon replied quickly. "I just came back tonight to retrieve some notes from my office for an interview tomorrow."

"Oh. Very good, very good" he replied. More interviews meant more media attention which meant more benefactors, he thought.

"Well, I won't keep you then" he said as he started to move on. "Dr. Cooper?" he stopped.

"Yes" Sheldon replied a little too gruffly. He was in a hurry after all. He needed to get back to Amy and he just realized he had left his phone on the front seat of his car in a rush to get in the building.

"Any news on the Nobel?" he asked with an inquisitive look.

Sheldon gave him a strange look. "Um, no." he said "Why?"

"No reason, no reason" Dr. Seibert replied. "I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. Well, good night Dr. Cooper" he said as he walked down the hall.

"Good night" Sheldon answered.

What an odd thing to say, he thought. Why would President Seibert say he would manipulate his digits for him? Sheldon shook his head.

He retrieve his missing notes (they were right where he left them) and ran back to his car. He got in and checked his phone. There was a message from Leonard. Sheldon's heart skipped a beat as he played the message.

" _Sheldon, its Leonard."_

 _Screams._

 _"Listen, Amy went into labor and her water broke we're…_

 _More screaming._

 _"…on the way to the hospital now. Just come straight there okay._ _Penny and I are with her. Amy's..."_

 _More screaming…_

 _fine," he gulped audibly. "Hurry."_

The message ended.

Sheldon was shocked.

"No!" he yelled. "No please, please…" he didn't finish his thought as he started the car and sped out of the parking lot.


	9. Chapter 9

Sheldon raced into the emergency room with an eerie since of déjà vu from the day he found out Amy was pregnant.

"My wife" he panted as he reached the triage desk.

"Sheldon!" he heard.

Sheldon turned toward the direction he heard his name and saw Howard and Bernadette. He ran to them.

"Where is Amy?" he said and again experienced an eerie since of déjà vu from last year when he asked them both the same question at the New Year's Eve party when he could not find Amy. That night would stay with him forever.

"She's okay Sheldon" Bernadette said. "The hospital staff rushed her right into labor and delivery. She asked us to wait here so we could take you to her when you arrived."

Sheldon exhaled loudly. She is okay, she is okay, he repeated the mantra internally. Or at least she was when she arrived, he gulped.

"Come on" Bernadette said quickly moving toward the door.

Sheldon knew his way around the hospital by now. He had insisted he and Amy take not only one, but two guided tours of the labor and delivery area. However, he was grateful that Bernadette was taking the lead. His legs were shaking so badly he could hardly walk.

Howard was right behind him and observed his shaky demeanor. He placed a hand on Sheldon's arm.

"It's gonna be okay Sheldon" he reassured him as they rushed down the hallway.

"Howard, if anything happens to them…" Sheldon choked out.

"Nothing's going to happen. They'll be fine. I promise" Howard said.

After what seemed like an eternity, they finally made it to the labor and delivery wing.

Sheldon stopped suddenly when they arrived at the double doors. He turned to look at Howard.

"Howard?" he asked.

"Yes Sheldon?" Howard replied.

"Amy told me what you did for her at the New Year's Eve party last year" he said out of the blue.

In the wee hours of the New Year, after a night of passionate reuniting, Amy had confessed to Sheldon how angry she had been at the party. She described how she had been drinking and dancing to "get back" at him for deserting her and staying home to work. She told him how Howard had kept an eye on her to keep her safe. And Amy told him how despite her best efforts to "have fun" without him, she had really just ended up missing him. That is why she left the party early.

Sheldon could not stop thinking about that night. He thought about how things could have turned out differently that night. He remembered how he felt when he could not find Amy after she left the party. He remembered, even if only for the briefest of moments, how he felt when he thought Amy might have died in some horrible car accident. And he remembered how he could not even fathom the possibility of living without her. He shuttered with fear at the thought of that possibility now.

Howard looked worried but Sheldon finally explained.

"Howard, Amy told me how you watched over her when she had too much to drink at the party. She said you escorted her away from some creep, gave her coffee and made sure she got home safely in a cab. I never thanked you" Sheldon said putting his hand on the shoulder of his friend.

"Thank you for taking care of Amy, when I was not there to do so" he said with deep sincerity in his voice.

Howard was touched beyond belief. He had planned to chastise Sheldon about his bad behavior that night. Howard was going to lecture him on the mistake he had made by choosing his work over Amy and how he shouldn't take his wife for granted.

However, something had changed in Sheldon since New Year's Eve. Sheldon had stopped putting himself before Amy. He became attentive and caring and well, a different man. Howard never felt the need to address that night with him.

"You're welcome Sheldon" Howard replied with emotion.

"Now go on in there and take care of your family" he said sternly but gave Sheldon an encouraging smile.

In a rare display of affection, Sheldon hugged him and Bernadette and buzzed into the doors leaving them behind.

When the doors closed, Bernadette turned and immediately crumpled into Howard's arms.

"What's wrong honey?" he said quietly.

"Oh, Howie. I'm worried something is wrong. Amy just started screaming so suddenly." she cried.

"Hey" he said as he put his arms around her. "We don't know that anything is wrong. Let's just think positively" he said.

Howard hoped he was able to convince himself as much as he hoped to convince his wife.

* * *

The labor and delivery nurse escorted Sheldon to the triage area where Amy was being examined. She was already in a gown lying on the bed with a sheet draped over her. Amy immediately saw him.

"Sheldon!" she yelled. She was so glad to see him.

"I am here Amy. I am here" he said running to the front of the bed. Oh Amy, he thought. I promise I will always be wherever you are.

"Well, hello Mr. Fowler" the doctor said as he rose up from behind the sheet.

It was Dr. Willis, the same doctor that had treated Amy when she was brought to the hospital after fainting in her lab. He was the one that informed them all of those months ago that she was pregnant.

"Actually, his name is…"Amy tried to say through clenched teeth though she was obviously fighting through a rough contraction.

"Sheldon" her husband interrupted her taking her hand trying to ease her pain. "Just call me Sheldon, Dr. Willis."

"Alright, Sheldon" Dr. Willis agreed. "Well, it looks like Amy is around three centimeters dilated but I don't think she is going to get to ten fast enough for this little one's time schedule now that her water has broken."

"Amy" the doctor said as he looked directly at her. "We're going to need to prep for a C-section, okay. The baby doesn't appear to like it now that the amniotic fluid is gone and is having some signs of distress."

"Distress?" Sheldon asked worriedly.

"Yes" the doctor replied. "I know I'm not your regular doctor but I'm on call tonight and I think we need to go ahead with the C-section now. I know you all have a birthing plan but you knew this was a possibility."

"Do you have any questions?" he asked as the room began to rush to life in a flurry of activity.

"No, no" Amy said. "Do whatever we need to do for the baby. Right Sheldon?" she asked.

Amy knew that Sheldon struggled when things didn't go according to plan but she was scared to death and she needed him to be strong for her and the baby. He had changed so much this year. Was it enough?

Sheldon looked at Amy. His life. His world. His family. He knew no matter how overwhelmed he felt, no matter how disruptive and chaotic life seemed in this moment, Sheldon was not going to run away. He was going to be strong for his family.

He knew what he had to say.

"Of course" he smiled squeezing her hand.

The nurses immediately began preparing Amy.

Dr. Willis turned to leave the room; however, Sheldon stopped him on his way out. He pulled him aside out of the ear shot of the patient.

"However, Amy is my priority, doctor" he said in a tone that was hushed but full of authority. "Do whatever you need to do for my wife" he added.

Dr. Willis nodded and left the room to prep for surgery.

* * *

A short time later, Sheldon entered the waiting room where Penny, Leonard, Raj, Anu, Howard and Bernadette were all waiting. He was dressed in scrubs and made his way over to them.

"Sheldon" Penny ran to him and stopped when she saw him. "What's going on? Why are you dressed like that? Where's Amy?"

"She is being prepped for a C-section. It seems" he stopped to clear his throat. "It seems the baby is in distress and they need to deliver now."

Penny's hands covered her mouth as she fought back tears. She wanted so much to make this better for her friends.

"They told me to wait here for a minute until I could be with her for the surgery. She will be awake so they are going to let me stay with her" he added with a tired voice.

"Leonard" he looked at his best friend. "Can you call my mother and tell her what has happened. Can you ask her" he gulped "to pray for us?"

"Sure buddy" Leonard said with shock.

"And Amy's parents" Sheldon added.

"Sure" Leonard said again. Sheldon looked absolutely beaten down. He would do anything he could to help him.

"Dr. Cooper" a nurse rushed in to the waiting room. "We're ready for you. We still need you to finish prepping for the sterile environment."

Sheldon nodded.

He took a final look around the room at his wonderful friends, his family.

"Wish us luck" he said in an uncharacteristic fashion.

"You don't need it Sheldon" Penny said. "You and Amy got this!"

Everyone in the room chimed in their agreement.

Sheldon nodded again and left the room.

Penny grabbed Leonard's hand as he reached for his phone to call Mary.


	10. Chapter 10

Sheldon stood at the front of the table and held Amy's hand. He was looking directly into her eyes. He certainly was not going to direct his attention anywhere else even if a sheet separated him from the surgical area. He could smell the blood already and knew one look would cause him to surely faint.

Oh dear, he thought. This was not at all how Sheldon had planned the birth of his first child.

In Sheldon's mind, he and Amy would be sitting on the couch in their apartment enjoying a quiet evening reading while Amy's feet would be on his lap. Amy would calmly look up from her book and tell Sheldon it was time. He would begin timing her contractions per standard protocol and then at the appropriate moment they would collect her bag, call her OB and calmly head to the car.

He would drive the quickest pre-established route to the hospital where they would arrive unscathed and unhurried and be checked into labor and delivery.

Sheldon would prepare the birthing room adding Amy's focal point of a baby monkey and the speaker designed to play soothing music as Sheldon expertly coached her through Lamaze.

No, this was not his plan at all, he thought as he stared down at his wife lying on the surgical table.

He looked closer at Amy. She grimaced a little from time to time but otherwise appeared fine.

"Does it hurt?" Sheldon leaned in to ask her. What a dumb question, he thought to himself. Of course it hurt.

"Just an occasional tugging sensation" she said. "I feel much better than I did" she smiled.

Sheldon was going to ask her another question when he was interrupted by a sound. A cry. A baby's cry. His baby's cry.

"It's a boy" Dr. Willis said. "A handsome healthy baby boy."

A boy! thought Sheldon. Nine agonizing months of waiting and then it was all over so fast. He looked at Amy who was grinning from ear to ear.

A nurse took the baby and cleaned him up and laid him on Amy's chest for her to hold him. She held him close and kissed his tiny forehead.

"Wowza" said Sheldon. What more could he say? The baby was perfect. Amy was perfect. This was perfect.

"Do you want to hold him?" Amy asked.

Sheldon gulped but reached down and gathered the newborn in his large strong hands. He held him close to his heart. He knew that Amy was his heart and now it seemed, so was this little guy.

Amy looked up at Sheldon holding their son with such love and devotion in his eyes. How was it possible, she wondered, that her feelings for Sheldon that grew exponentially more every day, could now be expanded to include another?

Amy was so glad she never gave up on Sheldon and their love. If she had, look what she would have lost.

Amy marveled at the hard times they had faced in their relationship. The lonely early years when she had patiently waited for Sheldon to finally acknowledge his feelings for her. The sad months apart when she decided to break up with him after five years seemed long enough to wait for him to commit to her. All of the random times she spent wondering, after they did get back together, if they would ever get married someday. And even the heartbreaking months last year when Sheldon put his work before their marriage.

Amy and Sheldon had certainly traveled a non-conventional road to arrive at this destination. However, she had always held on to the belief it would all be worth it in the end. And, she thought as she lovingly gazed up at her husband and son, she was right.

Sheldon stared down at his son. Ten fingers, ten toes. Dark hair, blue eyes. Sheldon's mother would say he was the "spitting image" of Sheldon. A real Cooper boy. Well, if he had to look like him, Sheldon hoped he would at least act like Amy.

He looked at his wife who was smiling at him. She was so amazing. Undergoing surgery right now, literally under the knife, and yet only caring about him and their son. He loved her so damn much.

"Okay Amy. You're doing great. Just a few more minutes and we'll get you on over to recovery" Dr. Willis said as he looked at the new little family.

"And, Dr. Cooper" he added with a smile looking at Sheldon, "Congratulations."

"Thanks" Sheldon said with a goofy lopsided grin as his eyes moved back and never left his son's face.

No, this was not how he planned the birth of his son but Sheldon would not change a thing.

* * *

The gang gathered in the waiting room hoping for some good news.

"What could be talking so long?" Penny asked nervously as she paced the floor in front of where Howard and Bernadette were sitting.

"It's not been that long, I'm sure everything's fine" Leonard said quickly as he paced the floor in the opposite direction in front of them.

"Would you guys sit down?" Howard finally yelled. "You're making me dizzy" he joked.

Just then Sheldon came barreling through the door still dressed in surgical scrubs.

Everyone asked at once "how is she?"

"Amy is doing great" he said. "She is in recovery now. And… it's a boy" he said smiling.

Squeals were heard all around as the hugs and handshakes commenced.

"He is perfect" Sheldon said proudly.

"What's his name?" Penny asked in anticipation.

"Elliot" Sheldon said.

"Elliot Stephen Cooper."

* * *

 **Welcome little Shamy baby! (Yes, Amy called in her "dibs on Elliot" and Sheldon was able to pay homage to Stephen Hawking.)**

 **More to come!**


	11. Chapter 11

Sheldon was sitting in the chair next to Amy's hospital bed in their room. Amy was getting some well-deserved sleep after a very long night following her surgery.

Earlier Sheldon had called his mom and the Fowlers and shared the news about their new grandson. Sheldon's mom was overjoyed but just kept going on and on about "God's plan." Ugh!

Amy's mom kept saying "I can't believe it" so Sheldon sent proof with a pic of Elliot. He was not sure that was what she meant exactly but he appreciated her no-nonsense ways. Actually, he had grown much closer to his mother-in-law over the past year. Sheldon was glad his son would have at least one grandmother who lived close to him. She was no Mee-Maw but then again who could be as wonderful as his own beloved grandmother.

After talking with his mom and the Fowlers, Sheldon had sent a quick message to cancel his interview this morning and had silenced his phone from the incessant buzzing that was occurring all night. He was trying to give Amy some peace and quiet but sheesh! How was anyone supposed to sleep in a place like this? Hospitals were too bright, too loud and definitely too germy for Sheldon's taste.

Sheldon looked down at his son sleeping peacefully in his arms. He too was getting some well-deserved sleep after a long night. Sheldon had carefully covered them both in the quilt that Amy made for him last Christmas making sure the quilt never touched the germy floor. He was glad he had thought to pack it in Amy's bag.

Each panel of Amy's quilt captured a cherished memory from his and Amy's relationship. From their first meeting in the coffee shop to their beautiful wedding last year. The panels reminded him there was nothing they could not accomplish as long as they did it together. I mean just look at what they had accomplished last night! They had made the most perfect creation who was currently sleeping peacefully in his arms. Sheldon had once been so excited when he and Amy had created a primitive neural network in her lab from their combined skin cells. He truly had no idea how profound the experience and emotion would be when their creation was their own son.

Sheldon's eyes roamed the quilt and stopped on the blue panel that represented Elliot. He knew that Amy would find the time soon to snitch his son's name onto the panel. He sighed. Sheldon knew that nothing was more important to him than Amy and now his son. He was resolved to never take them or their love for granted.

The door suddenly opened.

"Sheldon!" Leonard rushed in smiling.

"Shhh! Sheldon hushed and gestured to a sleeping Amy and sleeping Elliot.

"Sorry" Leonard said but was still grinning with a strange look on his face.

"What is it?" Sheldon whispered.

"Sheldon" Leonard began and took a deep breath. "I have some news to tell you. Some very important news" he chuckled just standing there for a moment.

"Well?" Sheldon asked.

"Sheldon. They've been trying to reach you all night but I know you've been busy. I'm not sure if he knows someone on the nomination committee or what but President Seibert called me when they couldn't reach you. Sheldon, you've done it. You've won!" Leonard exclaimed as quietly as he could.

"Won?" Sheldon questioned. "Won wha…?" Oh, he thought, could it be?

"A Nobel" Leonard said. "In physics". Leonard was grinning. "You've finally achieved your greatest accomplishment."

Sheldon was stunned into silence for a moment. Winning a Nobel Prize in Physics was his lifelong dream. An achievement that he had worked for, well forever. He had told anyone and everyone that would listen to him that he would someday, without a doubt, win a Nobel. There was nothing, absolutely nothing, in the world that was more important to him.

But now?

Now, as Sheldon looked lovingly at his sleeping wife, the mother of his child, the love of his life, he knew that was not true.

Something had changed him irrevocably again, he thought as he stared down at his newborn son. For although change brought with it disruption and chaos, it had brought unconditional love, great joy and happiness.

Sheldon was still a man of science. He would always be the one who constantly strove to discover and understand the inner workings of the universe. Yes, he was a scientist, but he was more. He was a friend, a husband and now, a father. Those discoveries were the most important ones of all.

Sheldon looked at Leonard. A man who had stood by him through it all. A man whom he trusted completely. How could he have known all of those years ago when Leonard successfully passed Sheldon's barrier tests to roommate-hood, that this short, bespectacled, oversensitive man would become his best friend. His brother.

"Thank you Leonard" Sheldon finally responded. "Thank you for telling me the news but most importantly thank you for taking care of Amy last night. For getting her to the hospital quickly and safely" he said.

Leonard looked at his best friend and nodded. He was still the same Sheldon he had known for years with his same quirks, eccentricities, and flaws but he had changed. He was so proud of Sheldon for becoming a Nobel Prize winner. But he was even more proud of Sheldon for becoming a better man.

"You are wrong about one thing; however," Sheldon continued.

Sheldon looked down at his infant son still sleeping in his arms.

"I have already achieved my greatest accomplishment, right here" he smiled.


	12. EPILOGUE:

**EPILOGUE:**

 **DECEMBER 10**

Sheldon looked from the stage out over the audience in the massive concert hall. He felt a myriad of emotions run through him. Fear, excitement, anticipation, fulfillment, joy. He thought this might be a good time to resume his practice of Kolinar to calm down but even that did not seem to help in this moment.

He looked away from the audience and to the left of where he was seated. He shook he head slightly at the thought of a kid from a modest home in East Texas sitting on the same stage as the Swedish royal family. Not to mention being in the presence of some of the most brilliant minds of his time scattered throughout the stage and audience.

He squirmed a little in his chair. He was certainly not used to wearing tails in the middle of the afternoon but he knew social convention dictated the formal attire. He would just have to get used to it, not only for the ceremony, but for the banquet that followed and traditionally lasted well into the night.

Sheldon looked out over the audience again and tried to settle his nerves as the chairman began his opening remarks. Physics was usually one of the first awards to be presented. It will not be long now, he thought.

Winning a Nobel Prize was a life altering change for Sheldon. All of the attention it had garnered had been extremely disruptive to his routines and that was on top of the fact that he and Amy were adjusting to life with a newborn. It was all overwhelming at times.

Although, he certainly could not complain about Elliot. He was such a good baby. He had been very quick to adapt to routines and schedules and only cried when it was appropriate.

Like when he was hungry (Amy took care of those times.)

Or when he required a diaper change (Sheldon had mastered diaper changes around week 3 and no longer fainted anymore.)

Or if he just wanted to spend some time with his Daddy (Sheldon was more than happy to take those times.)

Sheldon was still working with Elliot on his bathroom schedule but he was not worried. That took a while with Leonard too.

Amy, as Sheldon had always suspected she would be, was a wonderful mother. She was so attentive to Elliot's needs and had formed an amazing bond with him already. She was still on maternity leave from the university and she and Elliot had both made the long trip to Sweden with Sheldon. Amy was not about to miss the ceremony and, at two months old, Elliot was simply too little to be apart from his mother.

Sheldon's family came too all the way from Texas. His mother, brother and twin sister were here in the audience. Thankfully, Mary had threatened his siblings within an inch of their life to be on their best behavior as they watched their brother get his award.

Actually, the Cooper kids had a wonderful time catching up with each other last night at the hotel. Things were good between them for the first time in a long time. It seemed as adults they could finally relate to each other on a level they never could growing up together as children who possessed such different personalities.

Leonard and Penny had also made the trip. Leonard was in the audience with Sheldon's family while Penny had volunteered to stay back to babysit Elliot in the hotel room so Amy could attend the ceremony. She was the best "Aunt Penny" his son could have hoped for and Sheldon and Amy were extremely grateful to have both she and Leonard in their lives. Mary had offered to babysit later so Penny could join "the kids" and attend the festive banquet tonight.

The rest of Sheldon's friends were at home in California watching the live stream of the ceremony right now. They were all so excited for him that they organized a special early morning gathering at Caltech in the auditorium so everyone could watch him receive his prize. No one had teased him about this monumental event. Not even once. They were all genuinely thrilled for him. He was truly blessed.

It was a very overwhelming time for Sheldon. However, he was stronger, wiser and more mature. He no longer had the instinct to run away when things seemed too much for him. He had changed and grown and learned a valuable lesson. He was a father now. He had family and friends that loved him and they were the most important thing in life. He had learned to never take them for granted.

Sheldon's attention turned back to the ceremony as it was time for the presentation of the Nobel Prize in Physics. One of the committee members came forward to the podium and spoke about how super asymmetry vs. super symmetry could potentially reconcile the underlying paradigms of string theory. Sheldon was impressed with the speech and for a moment he felt humbled. He really had changed!

His name was called and he rose to stand. Sheldon stepped forward when instructed and was presented his diploma and medal with the traditional pomp and circumstance from the King of Sweden as blaring trumpets sounded behind him.

Sheldon turned to face the audience and saw his family, best friend and his beautiful wife smiling, clapping and celebrating this amazing accomplishment with him. He felt not only incredibly humbled but incredibly loved.

Yes, Sheldon was certainly overwhelmed. And that was a very good thing.

* * *

Amy smiled up at her husband as she clapped along in unison with the large crowd in the concert hall. The sound of the applause and blaring trumpets assaulted her senses with a thunderous roar.

She was a little sad that Elliot wasn't here with her. She adored being his mother and hadn't spent much time apart from her precious son since he was born. She missed him. He had been such a good baby during this trip but Amy knew the ceremony would be too much for an infant and, quite frankly, too much for a first time mother to handle. She was so grateful to Penny for taking care of him so she could be here for Sheldon.

Sheldon was an amazing father. He was so attentive and helpful and overly cautious. There wasn't an inch of their apartment that hadn't been baby-proofed already even though it would be months before Elliot could potentially start crawling. Amy didn't mind though. Sheldon had surprised her with how quickly he had adapted to caring for a newborn. And that was on top of all of the other changes that he had experienced recently.

So much had changed for them in the past year.

Last December, she had been upset and deeply hurt when Sheldon forgot her birthday that year. Rather than spend time focusing on their first year of marriage, he had instead chosen to pour his heart and soul into publishing the very theory that was the cause of so much celebration tonight.

Even in her hurt and isolation, Amy never doubted that Sheldon would win a Nobel for this breakthrough. She couldn't have been a prouder wife for the recognition of his accomplishment. However, she was most proud of Sheldon for something that had nothing to do with science.

She was most proud of him for making the realization that while science will always be a very important part of his life, it was not his whole life. He realized this past year that he wasn't just a scientist. He was a son, a brother, a friend, a husband and now a father. He realized those things weren't just roles he played in life, but roles he lived in life. He had relationships full of love that should never be taken for granted.

Sheldon had realized that nothing was more important than love.

Amy chuckled to herself.

Who would have thought that Amy Farrah Fowler, the shy awkward neurobiologist who used to find the notion of romantic love to be an unnecessary cultural construct, would fall for a full-blown hippy like Sheldon Cooper?

But fall she did. And that too was a very good thing.

Amy stopped clapping for a moment and quickly swiped away a single tear that had started to roll down her cheek.

Yes, she thought. She and Sheldon had both changed a lot over the years.

She couldn't wait to see what the future would hold for them.

Together.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading and traveling this journey of discovery and change with Amy and Sheldon.**

 **Check out the bonus chapter next!**


	13. Bonus Chapter

**Welcome to a bonus chapter!** **This scene didn't quite fit into the flow of the story but I assure you it definitely happened.**

 **Let's see how Sheldon and Amy "took advantage of their time together" when they were touring the country on their speaking tour.**

* * *

Sheldon thought for sure he was back home in East Texas. Whew! Who knew Chicago could be so hot, he wondered. It was not even officially summer yet but they were having some kind of heat wave.

Sheldon had been excited to bring Amy with him this weekend to present to the University of Chicago physics department and so far the trip had been wonderful. Their speech last night was very well received along with the lecture he had presented this morning. These speeches always went better when Amy joined him. Her insights on the way we conceptualize symmetry and asymmetry from a neurological perspective always engaged the audience.

After this morning's presentation, they had strolled along Hyde Park taking in the Museum of Science and Industry and had a fantastic time, although the heat had started to bother them. They decided to come back to the hotel to shower and change before heading out to dinner. They were going to enjoy a leisurely evening out since their flight home was not until tomorrow afternoon.

Sheldon took off his suit jacket and tie and looked around their hotel room. The University had procured an extravagant room for them. Much nicer than some of his other stays, he thought. When they had arrived yesterday, Sheldon had performed his standard check of the hotel facilities which had all passed muster. Traveling was never an easy process has far as Sheldon was concerned. However, even though Amy had convinced him to forego the black light inspection of rooms (he would never be satisfied with what he found) he still found comfort in bringing along his PRK (public restroom kit) when he went on his trips.

Amy had just finished her shower and Sheldon was waiting patiently to clean up. The hotel may have been elegant but the air conditioner was taking forever to cool off to an ideal setting of 72 degrees. Sheldon could not take it anymore and drug his shirts over his head while he stood under a vent. Ah, that was better.

Amy came out of the bathroom. Her hair was wet and she was wearing nothing but a white fluffy towel. The towel was fairly short and didn't quite cover her completely because her little baby bump (as they call it these days) was forcing the towel open. Amy turned her back to him and walked to the bed. She bent over to retrieve her clothing from her luggage.

Suddenly, Sheldon felt hot again despite standing under the air vent. Sheldon could see everything and gulped. Everything about Amy had rounded out with her pregnancy. First her breasts were fuller, her belly began to grow and Sheldon's favorite part of Amy (aside from her brain of course) her bottom was rounder than ever. Sheldon immediately felt his pants tightly constrict around his groan area. He and Amy's sex life had dwindled somewhat with her pregnancy and it had been too long since they had last been intimate.

Amy's first trimester of pregnancy was pretty typical. After her one scare that landed her in the hospital, she had not had any more fainting spells. She did have morning sickness unfortunately and had been quite tired as she recovered from her loss of nutrition and hydration each day.

Her second trimester had been much smoother so far. The morning sickness was gone and she so was her tiredness. In fact, at times it seemed like she had never had so much energy. While Sheldon had needed to stop and rest this afternoon on their museum visit, Amy just kept going. She seemed to have a glow and exuberance about her that grew stronger every day. In fact, Sheldon had thought that she had never looked more beautiful. A feat he did not think possible after seeing how amazing she looked on their wedding day.

Sheldon was reminded of two things that happened on the day of their wedding. First, he and Amy's discovery of super asymmetry which was the reason they both were here in this room in the first place. And second, his promise to her that he would spend his life showing her how much he loved her.

In the past, those two things sometimes conflicted with each other. Such as the time last year when he ignored Amy and worked day and night working on publishing their paper on their theory. Unfortunately, he had forgotten his promise during that time but he vowed he would never forget again.

"Sheldon?" Amy asked suddenly bringing him out of his daze as he ogled her. "Wasn't that Math Maze exhibit so much fun today at the museum? We are definitely coming back and bringing the baby when he or she is old enough. I really loved how they transformed Euclid's written definition of the golden ratio and made it come alive, didn't you?"

Sheldon gulped again. Between Amy's voluptuous pregnant body and her voluminous brain, he was a goner.

Keeping his promise to show her how much he loved her in the forethought of his mind, he took a chance and walked over to Amy. He embraced her from behind and she straightened back up. Sheldon kissed her neck gently and then moved to her shoulder.

"Sheldon?" Amy asked inquisitively. "What are you doing? I thought you needed to take a shower before we go out to dinner."

"Mm, you smell wonderful" he said as he avoided her question.

"Sheldon!" Amy playful chastised as she turned to face him. "We'll be late for our dinner reservation if you don't hurry."

"Well, I guess we will be late then because I most definitely do not plan on hurrying" he said breathing heavily as he took her face in his hand and kissed her. His kiss was very sweet and soft. At first. Then Sheldon leaned into Amy deepening the kiss.

Amy raised her arms and put them around Sheldon's neck. Her towel slipped off her body and fell behind her. Sheldon moved his hands to her back and pulled her closer to him. He twisted his body ever so slightly to avoid pressing into her stomach. He felt her round full breasts press against his bare chest. Amy really did smell good, he thought. But she felt even better.

As they continued to kiss, Amy moved her hands over his bare shoulders and back. Her touch felt amazing. Her leg lifted slightly around him and her hips grazed his increasing bulge. His pants were definitely too tight now!

Sheldon stopped the kiss to catch his breath. He stepped back and removed his pants and underwear to relieve some of the pressure. Amy stood there watching his movements with a look of lust in her eyes. Sheldon walked to the bed and removed the suitcase. He turned down the sheets and looked back at Amy. Suddenly, her lustful eyes turned to a look of shyness.

"Amy?" Sheldon questioned her. He began to doubt if maybe his chance might not pay off. "I was hoping…that is if you are not too tired…well, I had hoped we could…"Sheldon trailed off.

"Are you sure Sheldon?" Amy questioned. "I mean, I know I've never been any prize but now I'm well, getting really big" she finished and crossed her arms in front of her trying to hide her nakedness.

"What are you taking about?" Sheldon asked. "That is crazy talk" he said. "Never been a prize" he mumbled under his breath. "Amy, you are the most magnificent creature ever evolved. You are astonishing" he said as he moved her arms away from her body.

He gazed over beautiful body and let out a soft moan as he realized the absolute truth in his words. She was astonishing. She had always been beautiful to him from the first moment he saw her in that coffee shop years ago. And now, unbelievably, her beautiful self was nurturing his progeny. His child. His baby.

His eyes began to glisten with tears. He moved his large hands and placed them gently on her naked growing stomach. For a split second, he thought about explaining to her that she was not really that big. Based on his projections, her stomach would most certainly triple from the size it was now by the end of her pregnancy. However, something in him told him to keep that information to himself. Sheldon had made great strides in trying to think of Amy's feelings first and it seemed the more he practiced doing that, the better he got at it.

Sheldon bent down to kiss her stomach gently. He did not feel a kick. It seemed their little one was asleep. Sheldon knew on an intellectual level that the baby could not possibly know what was happening if they engaged in coitus right now; however, it brought him an odd comfort to know he or she would be oblivious to their parent's amorous activities as they snoozed the night away.

"Amy" he said as he raised up to look in her eyes. "You look beautiful as always. I love you. And I want you" he said as he kissed her lips and pulled her naked body to his so she could feel with absolute certainty just how much he clearly did want her.

Amy felt Sheldon's large manhood press into her hip. She could not help herself and had to reach down to touch him. Amy knew that women in their second trimester often times experienced a heightened sex drive and she had been no exception. She needed him so badly.

Amy began to move her hand up and down upon his length. Sheldon felt magnificent. So long and hard yet so velvety soft to the touch. She heard him moan into her mouth as he kissed her and she increased her movements.

Sheldon became even more exited as he felt her hands on him. He moved one hand to caress her breast gently and the other to firmly cup her bottom.

As carefully as he could, he moved them closer to the bed and sat down pulling her to sit on top of him as he continued to kiss her and caress her breast. As they sat down, Amy's hands moved up to his shoulders to balance herself on his lap. She was pleased that her movements were more graceful that she anticipated what with her stomach being in the way.

Once settled on the bed, Sheldon lowered his head and moved his lips to her breast. His tongue teased her and then he began sucking on her nipple. Amy moaned as she arched her back. Sheldon's mouth felt like magic on her. Amy wasn't sure if it was her increased sexual appetite or the amazing sensations Sheldon was invoking in her but she soon became desperate for him.

Amy pushed him backwards onto the bed and she attacked his mouth with frenzied kisses while she reached down to stroke him again. Sheldon wove his long fingers through her hair as he returned her kisses and moved his other hand lower to connect with her slick folds. He moaned again as he discovered her so wet already. Amy's breath caught in her throat as Sheldon began to stroke her and she moved against his hand to increase the friction.

Sheldon knew he could not last much longer with the way Amy's hand was moving on him. He moved his hands to stop her and ended their kiss. He stared at Amy breathing heavily. His bright blue eyes had darkened with his absolute desire for her. The only women that he has ever wanted this way. Sheldon needed to be inside of Amy now as much as he needed oxygen to live. He could tell she too was more than ready for him. He gently scooted them back further in the bed.

Amy understood exactly Sheldon's inference as he moved them back and she took the lead. She raised up and held on to headboard. She slowly lowered herself down onto him. They both gasped as her heat and wetness engulfed him. She began to move in a rhythmic motion.

Sheldon watched with wonder as Amy's full breasts began to bounce in time with the rhythm and her beautiful round belly was on display. She really was a goddess, he thought. He allowed his mind to drift back to the first time they had made love all of those years ago on her birthday. He remembered thinking the same thing about her when he first saw her naked form beneath him. When he finally realized how lucky he was that she had waited to share that part of her with only him.

His mind came back to the present but he could think of nothing other than the building sensation he experienced as her movements became more erratic. Soon Amy cried out in ecstasy as her orgasm forcefully hit her. Sheldon watched in splendor as she hung on to him and quickly moved her head side-to-side. Her wet hair swung back and forth in front of her eyes as they closed and her mouth formed a perfect "O". He stopped watching though when his eyes involuntarily closed and he felt his own orgasm release as he cried out Amy's name.

Amy slowed her movements and moved to his side to lay down on the bed. She was breathing heavily and her hands were splayed on her stomach.

"Amy?" Sheldon said through shallow breaths. "Are you okay, sweetheart?" Although, she seemed alright at the time, he was worried that she may have exerted herself too much with their encounter.

Amy laughed.

"Amy?" Sheldon said again hesitantly. He had never known her to laugh after they had sex. He wondered what that could possibly mean.

"Oh, Sheldon" she finally said. "I am more than alright. That was…well, just wonderful" she said as she turned to him with a smile.

"Oh" he said. "Good". Sheldon smiled at her in return. "It was" he agreed. He was not sure he understood the laugh but he never was the best at understanding human reactions so he decided to not worry about it.

Amy laid there next to Sheldon grinning and took his hand in hers while the other gently caressed her stomach. He had been so attentive to her needs lately. He had been doing such a good job of balancing his work with their marriage and upcoming new arrival. She had never felt more cherished. Sheldon was a wonderful husband and she knew he would make an wonderful father.

"Thank you Sheldon" Amy said. "Thank you for making me feel so…so beautiful and so wanted" she beamed.

"I should be thanking you little lady" he said as he kissed her sweetly and pulled her in his arms.

Sheldon was thankful.

He was thankful that Amy was lying here in his arms after everything they had been through together. Thankful that they were having a baby to care for and shower with affection. And, most of all, he was thankful that he finally understood what was really most important in this life. Love.

"Amy?" he said as he hand gently traced the outline of her curves.

"Hmm" she replied while her eyes closed.

"I know we have a dinner reservation" he started as he leaned in to kiss her. "But how do you feel about room service?"

Amy moved closer to him and answered his question.

She just didn't use words.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed the bonus chapter.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


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